Rock Around the Clock

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Hans-Jörg Cordes
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 27, 2015
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Be2. Another way is 9. 0-0-0 a6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Qf2 Nd7 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 b5 14. Bd3 b4 15. Ne2 Qc7 16. Kb1 a5 17. Ng3 Bc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Qe2 a4 20. Ne4 Qc7 21. Nf6+ Nxf6 22. exf6 g6 23. Qe5 Qxe5 24. fxe5 Ba6 25. h4 Bxd3 26. Rxd3 h6 27. Rf1 Ra5 28. Rd4 Rb8 29. Rf3 Rc5 30. a3 Rbc8 31. Rxb4 Rxc2 32. Rc3 R8xc3 33. bxc3 Rxc3 34. Rxa4 Re3 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. Rf8 Rxe5 37. Rxf7+ Kg8 38. Rg7+ Kf8 39. Rxg6 Kf7 40. Rxh6 Re1+ 41. Kc2 Re2+ 42. Kb3 Rxg2 43. a4 Rg1 44. a5 Ra1 45. Kb4 e5 46. h5 e4 47. Rg6 e3 48. Rg2 d4 49. Kc4 Rxa5 50. Kxd4 Rxh5 51. Kxe3 Kxf6 ½ : ½ T. A. Kosintseva – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 4th North Urals Cup, Krasnoturinsk 2006. 9. ... b6. Much more usual is 9. ... a6, e.g. 10. a3 b5 11. Nd1 f6 12. c3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 fxe5 15. fxe5 Nb6 16. b3 Bd7 17. Bd3 a5 18. Qc2 h6 19. Qe2 Bg5 20. Bf2 Qe8 21. h4 Bd8 22. Be3 a4 23. Bb1 b4 24. axb4 Be7 25. Bd2 Bb5 26. Bd3 Bxd3 27. Qxd3 Qh5 28. Qh3 Kh8 29. Nf2 axb3 30. Rxa8 Rxa8 31. O-O Nc4 32. Bc3 Bxh4 33. g3 b2 34. Qxh4 Qe2 35. Bxb2 Nxb2 36. b5 Rf8 37. Qg4 Qe3 38. Kg2 Nc4 39. Nd1 Rxf1 40. Kxf1 Nd2+ 41. Kg2 Qe1 42. Qf4 Qxd1 43. b6 Nc4 44. b7 Qc2+ 45. Qf2 Ne3+ 46. Kf3 Qe4+ 0 : 1 Nepomniachtchi – Yemelin, 25th European Chess Club Cup, Ohrid 2009. 10. 0-0 f5 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Kh1 Ne4 13. Qe1 Bb7 14. dxc5 Nxc3 15. Qxc3 bxc5 16. Bxc5 Rxf4 17. Nd4 Rxf1+ 18. Rxf1 Bxc5 19. Qxc5 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Qd6 21. Bg4 e5 22. Qf2 Qe7 23. c3 Bc6 24. h3 Rd8 25. Re1 Re8 26. Bd1 g6 27. a4 Rf8 28. Qe3 Kg7 29. b4 Re8 30. b5 Ba8 31. a5 Qd7 32. Qc5 d4!? Bold play. 32. ... Qe7 33. Qf2 Qf7 would perhaps have been less committal. 33. Bg4 Qf7 34. Kg1. Just in time to prevent the Queen’s irruption into her own camp, viz. 34. cxd4 h5 35. Bd1 Qf2. 34. ... Qf4 35. cxd4 h5 36. Qxa7+ Kh6 37. dxe5. Three Pawns are abstractedly worth a Bishop, so Black – now faced with two connected passed Pawns on the Queenside – has every reason to worry. Attempting to maintain the Bishop with 37. Bf3 would only mean more trouble after 37. ... Qg3 38. Rf1 e4. 37. ... hxg4 38. Qe3

38. ... Kg5?? Definitely a blunder, but after 38. ... Qxe3+ 39. Rxe3 Black would have to suffer much anyway to save the endgame. We append the following variation, by the staff of Chess-News.ru, showing empirically that Black could have saved the game: 39. ... Rb8 (or 39. ... gxh3 40. a6 Rb8 41. Rxh3+ Kg5 42. Rb3 Rb6) 40. b6 Bb7 (less accurate is 40. ... gxh3?! on account of 41. e6) 41. hxg4 Re8. 39. h4+ 1 : 0. On 39. ... Kf5 40. Rf1 puts an end to the game.

Beauty and the Best. Photo © John Saunders.